Convert Cup (US) to Teaspoon (US)

Cup (US)

Definition: A cup is a unit of volume in the imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. The metric cup is defined as 250 milliliters. One United States customary cup is equal to 236.5882365 milliliters as well as 1/16 U.S. customary gallons, 8 U.S. customary fluid ounces, 16 U.S. customary tablespoons, or 48 U.S. customary teaspoons.

Current use: The cup is typically used in cooking to measure liquids and bulk foods, often within the context of serving sizes. Actual drinking cups can vary significantly in terms of size and are generally not a good representation of this unit. Standardized measuring cups are used instead.

Teaspoon

Definition: A teaspoon (symbol: tsp) is a unit of volume based on an item of cutlery. The United States customary teaspoon is equal to exactly 4.928922 mL. The metric teaspoon is equal to 5 mL.

History/origin: The teaspoon was originally used as a unit of Apothecaries' measure and was equal to 1 fluid dram, ¼ of a tablespoon, or 1/8 of a fluid ounce. This definition of the teaspoon is smaller than the definitions of the teaspoon used today. This is partially due to tea being expensive in 1660s England, resulting in smaller teacups and teaspoons. Once England began importing tea from China in 1710, reducing the cost of tea, the size of teacups and teaspoons increased, and by the 1730s, became 1/3, rather than 1/4 the size of a tablespoon. This is the same size ratio in use today in both the US customary and metric teaspoons (though the actual volumes differ).

Current use: The teaspoon is widely used in cooking within certain countries, as well as for measuring pharmaceutic prescriptions. Outside of these applications, the unit is not particularly used, with measurements such as the liter or cubic meter being preferred.